A cozy bowl of Vegan Colcannon Soup will warm you up on chilly days. Inspired by Irish colcannon potatoes, it’s a great dish to serve on St. Patrick’s Day. Grab a spoon and dig in! This soup-er easy recipe is vegan and gluten-free.
Colcannon
Colcannon is a traditional Irish dish of mashed potatoes that’s mixed with kale or cabbage. Onions, leeks, scallions, chives, and sometimes bacon are added. It’s usually served in the cooler moths, as it’s pure comfort food. Here in the U.S. as we tend to eat it to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, although there’s really no reason why we can’t eat it year-round.
Vegan Colcannon Soup
I posted my Irish Colcannon recipe a few years ago for St. Paddy’s, and last year I shared my Colcannon Cakes. A few weeks ago I was making a batch of Baked Potato Soup, and it dawned on me that it would make a great base for a colcannon style soup to make for St. Patrick’s Day this year.
In this recipe, I’ve used the base of my Baked Potato Soup and changed things up a little. Instead of onion and garlic, I’ve used a leek. And I’ve left out the tempeh bacon and nondairy cheddar in favor of cabbage and kale.
How to Clean Leeks
Leeks are part of the onion family, but they have a milder flavor. They can be found year-round, but they’re really a spring vegetable. They’re usually in season right about now – late winter to early spring.
Leeks tend to be really dirty, so make sure you wash them well. I clean them by slicing them and then placing the slices in a bowl of cold water for a few minutes. The slices are then scooped up, placed in a colander and rinsed.
Cooking Potatoes
When making potato recipes like this one (or pretty much any recipe that involved potatoes), I leave the skin on. Peeling potatoes takes too much time, and the skin contains nutrients, such as B vitamins, vitamin C, iron, calcium, and potassium.
How to Make Vegan Colcannon Soup
This soup is really easy to make!
- First, you heat half the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat and sauté the leeks.
- Next, you add the potatoes, cashews, and vegetable stock and bring the mixture to a boil.
- Once the pot boils, bring the heat down to a simmer and allow to cook until the potatoes are fork-tender.
- Then, remove the mixture from the heat, pour it into a blender, and mix until it’s smooth and creamy. It comes together super quickly in my Blendtec.
- Next, you add the remaining oil to the same pot and sauté the cabbage and kale.
- Once it’s wilted, you pour the potato mixture back into the pot and let it cook for a few more minutes, until it’s heated throughout.
- Finally, you taste the soup and season with salt and pepper to your liking.
I like to serve my soup with a swirl of Roasted Garlic Cream for an extra bit of somthin’ somethin’.
Vegan Colcannon Soup
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons neutral-flavored oil divided
- 1 leek chopped (white and light green parts)
- 4 medium-sized baking potatoes (I use russet potatoes) diced (about 8 cups)
- ½ cup raw cashews
- 4 cups vegetable stock
- 1 teaspoon sea salt plus more to taste
- ½ teaspoon black pepper plus more to taste
- 2 cups shredded green cabbage
- 4 cups shredded kale
- ¼ cup Roasted Garlic Cream optional
- Fresh thyme for garnish, optional
Instructions
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Heat 1 teaspoon of oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the leek and cook for about 5 minutes, or until it begins to brown.
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Add the potatoes, cashews, and stock to the pot. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer. Cover the pot and cook the potatoes for about 15 minutes, or until they’re fork tender.
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Remove the pot from the heat and stir in 1 teaspoon of salt and ½ teaspoon of pepper.
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Allow the soup to cool slightly and then pour it into a blender and blend until smooth and creamy. It may need to be done in batches, if your blender is on the smaller side.
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In the same pot, heat the remaining oil and add the cabbage and kale. Cook, stirring frequently, for 5 to 10 minutes, or until the cabbage begins to brown and the kale wilts.
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Add the potato mixture back into the pot and cook for 5 more minutes or so, or until it’s heated throughout.
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Taste and add more salt and pepper, if desired. If the soup seems too thick, you can add a little more stock or some water to reach the desired consistency.
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Serve hot, with a swirl of Roasted Garlic Cream and a garnish of fresh thyme, if using.
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